Nicholas Carter

“ SUSPICION FALLS ON NICK.
“For the love of Heaven!” exclaimed Lane Griswold, in a shocked voice. “You are crazy, Simpson, or lying! Do you actually mean to charge Carter, who is one of the greatest detectives we have in this country, and a man who is absolutely above suspicion in every way, with having turned on his friend and associate, Cray, and then made off with the money?”
Simpson’s air was one of injury. “I’m not crazy, and I’m not lying,” he answered. “I’m telling you, or am ready to tell you, just what I know, and all I know. You’ve got me where you want me. ”

“ As a newspaper proprietor, he knew a great deal about the seamy side of life, and was the custodian of many discreditable secrets which for one reason or another had never been allowed to see the light of print. He did not need any one to tell him that all is not gold that glitters, or that a man is necessarily straight in every respect because he has never been found out in any wrongdoing, and has always enjoyed the best of reputations. ”

“ If Simpson had had any one to help him, surely he would not have remained tied up there in a locked garage to starve, or be caught by those who were searching for him.
Even if he had actually been surprised and handcuffed by Cray before the arrival of his friends, the latter would not have left him there to such an uncertain fate. After giving the detective his quietus, they would have carried Simpson off with them, handcuffs and all, and found a means of releasing him later on.
No, the man must be telling the truth. ”

“ Mrs. Simpson bitterly regretted her display of emotion. Fear seemed to be squeezing her heart with icy fingers. In the background of her mind a foreboding had been lurking for days. Her instincts had told her that there was something strange and sinister about [148] her husband’s disappearance—something which the office had not seen fit to reveal to her.
Now she recalled all of Cray’s strange questions and stranger actions.
“He’s a detective!” she told herself. “I was right. John is in trouble, and this man must have set a trap for him last night. If he dies, John will be his murderer. ”

“ Ex-Senator Phelps nodded slowly and hopelessly.
“I suppose you’re right,” he agreed. “I had hoped for immediate help, Carter, for something that would put new hope into me. Evidently, I expected too much, though. I’ll do as you say, of course, and try to believe that everything will come out all right. Good morning.”
And with that he left the room, walking as if he were seventy instead of sixty.
“Number one!” Green-eye Gordon chuckled as he leaned back in his seat. “A hundred and fifty thousand isn’t bad for a starter. I wonder who will be the next?” ”

“ His manner of exaggerated respect made it difficult for the masquerader to keep his face straight.
“I’m having the time of my life, without a doubt,” thought Gordon. “I wouldn’t have missed this for anything. Here I am in Nick Carter’s house, monarch of all I survey, with Cray fawning on me like a faithful dog, and a multimillionaire for a client already. Soft, soft!”
The accomplished rascal had really given a very creditable performance while Lane A. Griswold was on the scene, but now, in spite of his contempt of Cray, he decided to give the latter his head for the time. ”

“ For the moment Griswold had forgotten his desire for secrecy. To be sure, if he could expose Nick, he would be willing to have all the facts come out, but he knew that he would have to be very sure of himself and his facts before publishing any such charge against a man of the detective’s reputation; consequently, he would have to delay, in the hope that Cray would be able to tell his side of the story, and until then it was desirable that no rumors should be set in motion. ”

“ Most men would have given up in the first few minutes, or at the end of an hour, but not so Green-eye Gordon. There was an ugly expression on his face, and his nerves were on edge, but he kept on with a dogged determination, scrutinizing the enameled surface of the safe inch by inch, and going over it not once, but many times. ”

“ He had not always been wealthy, and he knew that No. 31 Floral Avenue, though insignificant enough from his present standpoint, was not the sort of place that a man dependent on the salary of the size of John Simpson’s was able to afford. Accordingly, therefore, he came to the same conclusion that Jack Cray had reached the previous day.
“By Heaven!” he muttered, the skin under his jaws tightening. “The fellow must have been helping himself from the fund before he decamped. What a fool he is! What fools they always are to make a big showing on nothing. ”

“ My price for silence is one hundred thousand dollars. Have it ready when I call, or pay it to any one who may present an order from me. Don’t think you can stop this by trying to have me arrested. You will fail, and the whole story will come out. I have fully arranged for its publication, no matter what happens to me. The money is the only thing that will buy my silence. Pay it, and your secret is safe. What is more, you will never hear from me again. Refuse to pay it, and—ruin!”
It was a bold letter, but Nick saw that it was nothing but a bluff. ”

“ Besides, we have to allow always for the action of the mind behind it—that mind which interprets everything it sees. In short, we generally see what we expect to see. Such a successful masquerade appears little short of miraculous to one who isn’t a special student of such things, but it’s far from an impossibility. My butler and housekeeper, and Cray himself, had no reason to suppose that it was not I they were seeing; therefore, as I had been a familiar sight to them for years, they would never have thought of examining the masquerader. ”

“ Jack Cray’s red face was redder than usual with excitement, and there was something about his manner that suggested he had brought the famous newspaper owner there for no trivial reason.
The latter was a man rather over medium height, dressed in the very latest fashion, but with a trace of untidiness that suggested a careless valet. His face [35] was inclined to be sallow, and the light eyes, prominent and rather jerky in their movements, had heavy bags under them, despite the fact that their owner must still have been under fifty. ”

“ Green Eye’s decision had been an immediate one when he heard the second man’s name, for Lane A. Griswold was several times a millionaire, and the owner of the New York Chronicle and Observer, one of the biggest and most influential of the country morning papers—the first and most conspicuous link in the chain of daily publications which now stretched all the way across the continent.
Millionaires were worth cultivating, according to Gordon’s philosophy, and he reasoned that if he could get any sort of a hold upon this one, it might mean the greatest stroke of luck in his life. ”

“ Green-eye Gordon stood looking at the safe that was built into the wall of Nick’s study, and, as he stared at it, his eyes were very greedy in expression.
For one thing, he felt certain that the famous detective kept money there—very likely a large sum—for, in Nick’s profession, it is often essential to lay one’s hands on plenty of cash at very short notice. Expensive journeys have to be undertaken on little warning, often at hours when the banks are closed, for instance, and there are many other ways in which ready money comes in handy. ”

“ The more he thought about Simpson’s use of such a machine, the more it struck him as significant.
“Why an electric, anyway?” he asked himself. “All that I know anything about are ladylike little coupés [63] —about the last thing any man in his senses would be expected to choose for a quick get-away, especially when weighted down with eighty thousand dollars in gold. Why did he choose such a vehicle? What possible advantage could he see in it?”
Green Eye turned this over for some time in his mind, stopping now and then to grin, as he realized how seriously he was entering into the problem. ”

“ He was beginning to see light.
“Is this Gordon of the same height and build as yourself?” he asked eagerly a moment later.
“Quite near enough for the purpose, as I recall,” Nick replied. “More than that, he’s a master of make-up, and would have had very little trouble in copying my features. His eyes are light, nondescript, to be sure, but——”
“Then I don’t see how it would have been possible for him to have fooled everybody in that fashion,” the millionaire objected.
“The human eye is far from perfect, Mr. Griswold,” Nick reminded him. ”

“ Griswold and the doctor exchanged glances. The former was as sorry for Mrs. Simpson as he could be in his own way.
“You’ll treat this as strictly confidential, I’m sure,” the millionaire said. “You must see the importance of secrecy to us, and so long as there can be no prosecution, there’s no use in making that poor woman’s life more of a burden to her than is unavoidable. There’ll be a lot of gossip here, anyway, I suppose, but we must do all we can to minimize it.” ”

“ THE TIRE PRINTS.
Jack Cray barely avoided a sudden start at that last remark of Mrs. Simpson’s. He had been hoping for some light on the electric car, but had thought it improbable that he would find any clew at the fugitive’s home.
“So he’s a fool at times, is he?” he thought. “Good enough! That ought to make things easier.” ”

“ Chick had been in favor of cutting off all communication with the detective’s residence in New York. It was not because he himself felt any great need of a holiday, but rather because he had an exaggerated notion that his chief was badly in need of a change.
Nick, however, had vetoed this suggestion, and left things largely to his butler’s discretion. The butler had been in his service for years, and had shown himself by no means a fool.
“If anything big develops,” Nick had told him, “do not hesitate to telegraph for me, or have me called on the long distance—if there isn’t time to write. ”

“ No make-up could have stood that test—at least, with Nick Carter at the observer’s end.
“What fools the cleverest of us are sometimes!” the detective thought, with an inward chuckle. “Gordon has such a good opinion of himself, and is so certain that a man needs only to be daring enough in order to carry everything before him, that he’s actually willing to undergo this sort of thing—and he thinks he’s getting away with it!” ”

“ Nick took them after a second’s hesitation, studying the butler’s face as he did so. From the man’s squint and the lines about the eyes, he saw that the butler was nearsighted. Probably he had been in the family for a long time, but this defect in his eyesight explained his failure to detect the deception.
But where was the real Chester J. Gillespie, whose second double was now entering his house, and calmly inspecting his letters? ”

“ With that pictured face before him, Ernest Gordon found it very difficult indeed to credit Simpson with the cleverness and resourcefulness which had been so conspicuous in Griswold’s account of the theft. Still, he knew that such men sometimes had flashes of brilliancy. ”

“ His assistant nodded gloomily. “Correct,” he answered. “I never know which way you are going to jump, or at what moment. When I’m trying to get you off for a holiday, especially, I feel the greatest responsibility. You have such a way of changing your mind, and, if you don’t, somebody usually bobs up with a case that you find irresistible. You’ve been working your head off for months, and you are run down; you know you are.” Chick grinned. ”

“ Nick supplied.
“What in thunder are you two talking about?” Griswold broke in.
“Have you ever heard of Ernest Gordon, familiarly known as Green-eye Gordon?” the detective asked him.
“Of course. I read my newspapers more carefully than any one else does. Good heavens! Is it possible that you think Gordon could have impersonated you?”
Nick nodded.
“That’s precisely what I feel obliged to think,” he answered.
“But—but Gordon is in prison, isn’t he? No, by Heaven, he’s dead! I had forgotten for the moment, but he died in that fire up at Dannemora a short time ago. Don’t you remember?” ”

“ They exchanged meaning glances, and Cray left the garage. As he walked along the main street, he whistled softly, but very cheerfully. The garage man’s hint as to Simpson’s reason for purchasing an electric car had served to strengthen his suspicions. The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that he was right, and the more eager he was to lay his amazing theory before Nick Carter. ”

“ New York would attract that money as surely as a magnet attracts iron filings. What’s more, Simpson is on his own ground here. And the electric car? It’s a tempting theory, confoundedly tempting! Why would a stay-at-home shrimp like Simpson think of hiding his treasure if not somewhere on his own bit of land? ”

“ After a great deal of effort, the far-from-athletic Simpson succeeded in hoisting it into the coupé. Would he fill up the hole now and close the garage, or was there more to follow?
Obviously there was more, for after some further digging and a lot of sighs and mutterings, a second suit case, somewhat smaller, was dragged out and deposited in the car.
“That must be all of it,” thought Green Eye. “Eighty thousand dollars in gold doesn’t weigh a ton or fill a coffin.” ”